Posts Tagged ‘skiing’

It’s a Saturday afternoon and a really rare bluebird day in the Adirondacks, so mild that I have my gloves off. I’m riding up the T-bar lift on Mt. Pisgah, one of the most beloved ski mountains in the North Country. There’s a smattering of kids and grown-ups on the slopes. This is a place where my own son grew up learning to ski and we’ve spent many happy hours here, so it’s kind of a great spot.

Up at the top, I find myself looking over a great little tangle of trails. Pisgah’s not a huge mountain, but there’s a surprising amount of terrain – fun little choices, small crowds, and perfect snow. After pulling on my gloves, I launch. » Continue Reading.

If you’re a skier below a certain age, you may not recognize the sound of an old T-bar lift. Even if you’ve used one before, until you get the hang of it, it’s easy to fall right on your butt. That’s what almost happened my first time in Newcomb. I hadn’t been on a T-bar since high school.

But the T-bar’s the only way to the top here at the Goodnow Ski Area. It’s about 200 vertical feet. There’s a wide main run, and a side woodsy run. And from the top, a beautiful pay-off – a view of the snowy High Peaks from the south. » Continue Reading.

There is always something magical about getting outside and skiing under a bright Adirondack full moon. Though it is certainly easy enough to visit any trail with a headlamp and proper gear, it is sometimes the camaraderie of an organized event that pulls everything together.

Most organized activities are family-friendly, but if you are in need of a night off from the kids give Cascade Ski Center a try. » Continue Reading.

The popular open house ski weekends at Great Camp Santanoni have become an annual tradition. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH), the Town of Newcomb, and the Adirondack Ecological Center have announced that historic Camp Santanoni will be open for three special weekends this winter. » Continue Reading.

Lapland Lake Nordic Vacation Center in Benson, NY, one of the Adirondacks’ premier cross country ski resorts for more than 36 years, has new owners. Kathryn and Paul Zahray, formerly of Matawan, NJ, and Lapland Lake customers for more than 17 years, have purchased the resort.

The new owners say they will seek to increase partnerships with local businesses and plan to continue the resort’s support of cross country ski racing at the secondary level. “Emphasis will be placed on enhancements such as the recently added Reindeer Rally program geared to introduce more youth to the sport of cross country skiing,” they said in an announcement to the press. » Continue Reading.

If you enjoy skiing, you’ll want to see a Passion for Snow, an hour-long documentary produced by Lisa Densmore Ballard, a Saranac Lake native who frequently writes about hiking and paddling for the AdirondackExplorer.

The movie tells the story of Dartmouth College’s influence on skiing in North America, but it includes several Adirondack connections. » Continue Reading.

A new group is exploring the possibility of creating a network of trails that would link with new and existing lodging facilities in the Adirondack Park.

The concept is based on hut-to-hut systems that are popular in other parts of the world, including New Zealand and Spain. Closer to home, the Appalachian Mountain Club runs huts for hikers in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. » Continue Reading.

In 1971, the year before the State Land Master Plan was adopted, Trudy Healy published the second edition of A Climber’s Guide to the Adirondacks. It was a slim, staple-bound booklet that described about seventy rock-climbing routes.

Last year, Jeremy Haas and Jim Lawyer published the second edition of Adirondack Rock, a two-volume affair with descriptions of more than three thousand routes. In addition, other authors are working on guidebooks for bouldering and slide climbing in the Adirondack Park.

Haas points to these books as evidence of the growth in popularity of technical climbing and mountaineering since the early 1970s. He and other climbers are hoping the Adirondack Park Agency recognizes this growth when it considers amendments to the State Land Master Plan.

The Adirondack Almanack

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